Stallions had final practice Friday

By Chris Miller-Prep Sports Writer

Published: Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 06:12 PM.

“When we’re on defense I do everything but call the play. I can help adjust because I’m up top. I may suggest to Tommy about a front or a situation that we might need to do this or that. But he’s the defensive coordinator.

“He goes with his gut. Tommy’s real good about having a feel for what the other team is doing to us and what works and what doesn’t, and the kids know when coach Gagnon is speaking that’s me speaking through him.”

Other duties

Not only do Padgett and
Swain
County
coach Neil Blankenship have to coach their teams this week, they have still have perform their administration duties as their school’s AD’s.

And that includes a lot of responsibilities.

“What we are going to do as far as transportation and costs?” Padgett said of his duties. “There’s a lot of things to pay for, that’s my concern.”

Phil Padgett didn’t notice it until he walked onto the football field Friday afternoon.

Southwest’s coach hadn’t even thought about his team holding its final practice of the season until his team was already warming up for today’s NCHSAA 1-AA championship game with SwainCounty.

“I wasn’t thinking about until I walked out here and one of the coaches said, ‘Well it’s our last practice,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s right, it is,’” Padgett said. “We’ve been together for four months straight. We haven’t taken off. We’ve had one day off in four months and that was when we gave then the Wednesday off after we beat East Columbus on a Monday.

“Heck, we’ve played a longer schedule than colleges for sure and almost the pros because we’ve been together for so long.”

Instead, the Stallions (13-1) have been working hard toward a state title, something they can win if they beat defending champion SwainCounty (15-0).

Southwest spend most of Wednesday’s practice on its game field before practicing there entirely Thursday and Friday.

“They (players) came out Monday a little flat because we just James Kenan, but as the week went on, we got better and better,” Padgett said. “It’s not been a bad week. It’s not been the best week we’ve ever had and we definitely have had some better.

“But (his team) can change all that Saturday.”

In the box

Southwest assistant coach David McLeod enjoys his role up high during games. Being in the press box gives him the best view of what’s going on and allows him to help the coaches on the sideline, including Padgett and defensive coordinator Barnes, with assistant Tommy Gagnon being his conduit on the sideline headphone.

When the Stallions are on offense, McLeod, who coaches linebackers, said he watches the opponent’s front in particular and probes for openings. On defense, McLeod is more involved, relaying everything from what the other team is trying to do on offense to holes in Southwest’s defense as well as if anyone isn’t pulling his weight.

Either way, however, McLeod doesn’t dictate. He suggests.

“I don’t suggest a lot. I just let him know what’s there,” McLeod said of Padgett. “I’ll let him know, ‘Hey, they’re not paying any attention to a certain position or a certain player.’ Or I might talk to my linebackers or somebody on defense that I see that they’re doing something that’s out of our scheme.

“When we’re on defense I do everything but call the play. I can help adjust because I’m up top. I may suggest to Tommy about a front or a situation that we might need to do this or that. But he’s the defensive coordinator.

“He goes with his gut. Tommy’s real good about having a feel for what the other team is doing to us and what works and what doesn’t, and the kids know when coach Gagnon is speaking that’s me speaking through him.”

Other duties

Not only do Padgett and SwainCounty coach Neil Blankenship have to coach their teams this week, they have still have perform their administration duties as their school’s AD’s.

And that includes a lot of responsibilities.

“What we are going to do as far as transportation and costs?” Padgett said of his duties. “There’s a lot of things to pay for, that’s my concern.”

Meanwhile, Blankenship has had his phone ring many times since the Maroon Devils advanced to the final.

“We were meeting (in Greensboro) to exchange film on Saturday morning and I think I got like eight text messages from people asking me where we are staying and I didn’t have a clue,” he said. “You have to deal with all these questions. Your phone rings off the hook about this and that.”

Head coach?

Barnes is happy with what he’s doing, and while he’s been pursued by other schools to be their head coach, the 50-year-old Richlands High graduate is not exactly dying to be the boss on the football field.

“That’s not one of my goals,” he said. “Since I have gotten to Southwest (in 1994), the way that he (Padgett) just lets me work freely with the defense, it ain’t one of the things that I’ve wanted to do.

“Football takes a lot. A lot of people don’t understand what it takes for a football coach to be successful. You’ve got to put the time in. Sometimes they say it’s better to stay where you’re at because the grass ain’t always green somewhere else.”

One league, 2 finals

SwainCounty is not the only team from the Smoky Mountain Conference playing for a state title this year. Murphy is in the 1-A final against Plymouth.

Murphy is in the final for the third consecutive year, having beaten Jones Senior 21-6 last year.

“Last year was the first year it happened,” Blankenship said of SwainCounty and Murphy both advancing to the finals. “We were shocked and Murphy was too that they got that far last year. This year I think they expected to be here. Our conference is traditionally strong.”

Versus the champs

Southwest is 1-1 in its previous two games against defending state champions.

The Stallions beat defending champ Burlington Cummings 20-14 in the 2003 2-A final and lost 46-25 to defending 1-A champion Wallace-Rose Hill in the 2010 regular season.